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Hey, Don't sell yourself short, a lot of the "pros" skimp on quality for productivity, something you're not likely to do since you have a vested interest in it. Good luck with your project and post up some pics of your progress.

I don't like the architecture of square tubing horizontals with pickets stuck to the face -- it seems kind of kludgy compared to the punched channel. But maybe it has better anti-sag properties?

As in stiffness along the x-x axis... depends. A small rectangular tube may have a lower stiffness than a heavy punched channel, and vice versa. Depends on the cross section. But generally speaking, the punched channel I've seen is not very stiff.

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

At least, I would guess that where the pickets are just bearing weight for punched channel, they are actually providing some rigidity to square tubing if they're welded on both of their vertical edges where they overlap the square tubing. Maybe I'm totally wrong about that, though. But the fence down the street has 9-foot spans and has no sag problem, even when I try pulling down in the center of the panel. Granted, it's 1-1/4" tubing and I'm not sure of its wall thickness.

When the pickets are welded to the horizontals, it becomes a composite beam. So yes, you're right. It does contribute - but the stiffness it adds is so minuscule that you can ignore it.

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

I'd prefer to avoid having the pickets contact the wall. So if it means shorter panels, I'm willing to go down that road. My guess would be that 5' panels would be fine with two horizontals of 1" square tubing. But would 5' panels be all right with two spans of punched channel

It sounds like 5' panels would also mean more stability in terms of posts. So I'll forget about the tiny rectangular tube idea.?

I think you'll find that the punched channel is not nearly as stiff as tubing. Consider using longer pickets as supports. This is very common. If you are worried about contact rust, it's going to happen wherever you put a post in, too. If you could give me a link that has the cross section of the product you are going to be using (or even better, it's sectional properties) along with the complete dimensions of the pickets you will be using, I can estimate the expected sag for various clear spans.

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

And as long as I've got the attention of some actual welders. Is there a particular steel I should be looking for? A36 hot-rolled? 1018 cold-rolled? Can the two be combined, or will that cause problems?

If you get HSS rectangular tubing, you are probably getting ASTM A500 grade B (46,000psi). There is no advantage to using a high strength steel. The stiffness depends on the cross section and the modulus of elasticity, which is going to be 29,000ksi for any steel you get.

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

And I've been assuming I should use .023 wire for the indoor assembly of the panels with 75/25 Argon/CO2 and .030 or .035 flux-cored for whatever I have to do behind curtains when it all gets installed. Does that make sense?

I'd just use .035" flux core for all of it. You'll get a more ductile weld. There will be nasty stuff on your steel that you won't have the time or patience to completely remove. If you are using a PVC curtain to block the UV from public view, that's cool. If you are putting up a curtain to block the wind, that's not necessary for flux core.

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

And so I can brag to my wife, what would this kind of job cost if I had it done by a pro? It's 80 linear feet of 34" fencing with two gates and about 60 feet that will be secured to the wall while the remaining 20 will need concrete-filled post holes. Any ballpark number? (I do understand that a pro would do a much better job than me.)

Ballpark for custom wrought iron fencing is $50-$100 per linear foot. I used the entry for 48" aluminum fence in National Construction Estimator with the LA regional prices and 25% overhead, 10% profit, and 10% contingencies to ballpark the price. There wasn't an exact entry for what you're building. Here's the results:

80% of failures are from 20% of causesNever compromise your principles today in the name of furthering them in the future."All I ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work." -Sgt. Bilko"We are generally better persuaded by reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others." -Pascal"Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything." -Pascal

I made mine using the punch channel. I made a jig out of 4x4 post, just cut a slot in the wood that the punch channel would slide into. The sled the post in the punch and weld. Start the weld on channel first it is thicker than your pickets. One thing nice about a fence like this bad weld won't matter as long as they penetrate and hold. This was my first project.
1" sg tubing for frame.
The 4x4 poles were not painted yet.

I made mine using the punch channel. I made a jig out of 4x4 post, just cut a slot in the wood that the punch channel would slide into. The sled the post in the punch and weld. Start the weld on channel first it is thicker than your pickets. One thing nice about a fence like this bad weld won't matter as long as they penetrate and hold. This was my first project.

I notice that all your pickets go to ground level. That certainly makes sag a non-issue.

80% of failures are from 20% of causesNever compromise your principles today in the name of furthering them in the future."All I ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work." -Sgt. Bilko"We are generally better persuaded by reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others." -Pascal"Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything." -Pascal